On 9 May, 2010, the RA voted to approve a Bill detailing new rules for candidates campaigning for election in the CDS. We want to ensure that the voters get the position information they need from candidates in order to make informed decisions when voting for the new RA members. We also want this to be a fair and open election where every candidate has an opportunity to present his or her views to the voters without any candidate having an advantage over any other candidate in reaching the electorate.
Please read these new regulations carefully. There are more activities permitted than had bee for past campaigns. There are also activities that are prohibited, such as using the CDS or AA official group chat or notices to solicit votes (Candidates, do not do this!). Candidates, please remember that voters want to know about you, but that spamming voters by engaging in the activities that are prohibited will most likely cause voters to choose candidates who have not spammed them.
This Bill directs the SC to organise election campaign activities on a non-discriminatory basis, and since the bill passed with less than a week until the polls open on Saturday, 15 May 2010, gave the SC discretion to handle this May 2010 election differently. In accordance with these new campaign rules, the SC is hereby requesting one campaign position notecards from each candidate which we will post and circulate, in batches, before the polls open. Candidates, please give your campaign position notecard to Delia Lake, SC Dean, as soon as possible. If all the candidates would also provide Delia with a photo of themselves that has copy/mod/transfer permissions, the SC will make a sign with a composite of those candidate photos arranged randomly and place those signs in the public information hubs of the CDS sims. To ensure fairness, these photo signs will only be made if every one of the candidates running for office provides a photo.
Election Campaign Rules
Preamble
This bill operates in conjunction with Article IV, Section 4 of the CDS Constitution to clarify what manner of campaigning is consistent with the right to speak and assemble and avoid invasions of privacy or disruptions of the peace during the election campaign.
The following activities are permitted:
Election debates
Public or private meetings
Advertising public meetings by group notice
Person to person IMs
Notecard givers (which require someone to click on them to receive a notecard)
Campaign posters
Campaign newspapers
Advertising on privately owned land
Any internet-based content not pushed at individuals: e.g. candidate/faction websites, tweets
Any non-excessive use of social media directed towards individuals: e.g. Facebook notices
The following activities are not permitted:
Use of CDS or AA official group chat or notices to solicit votes
Dropping unsolicited notecards on people
Shouting in the vicinity of an election booth
The SC will, at minimum, organise the following election campaign activities on a non-discriminatory basis:
Advertising on publicly owned land (with equivalent space given to all candidates)
The SC will solicit two notecards from each candidate and circulate these, in batches, before the polls open. The deadline for receipt of the first will be the deadline for declaring candidacy, the deadline for receipt of the second is 7 days before the polls open. One circulation is to take place shortly after the deadline for declaring candidacy and the second is to take place just before the polls open. The SC also has discretion to handle the May 2010 election differently as candidates are already declared for this election.
An event to 'Meet the Candidates' informally and/or an election debate
